Barn door latch



Nov. 7, 1950 Foss 2,529,009

BARN DOOR LATCH Filed March 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 7, 1950 H. Foss 2,529,009

BARN DOOR LATCH Filed March 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 39 I my Patented Nov. 7, i950 UNITED) STATES PATENT.

OFFICE BARN noon LATCH Hans L. Foss, Barron, Wis. 7 Application March ,4, 1946, Serial No. 651,710

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a barn door latch and it is one object of the invention to provide a device of this character serving very eii'ectively as a latch for holding the door closed.

;Another object of the invention is to provide a latch having a shank adapted to be rotatably mounted through thewall of a barn and provided atone end with a turning handle and at its other end with a turning handle and a bill or arm for engaging across a door and holding the door closed. It will thus be seen that the shank maybe turned by grasping either the outside handle or the inside handle and imparting turning movement to swing the door-engaging arm into or out of position to secure the door.

Another object of-the invention is to provide a latch having a spring for shifting the shank longitudinally and causing the arm to be held in firm engagement with the door when moved to a doorsecuring position.

Another object of the invention is to so mount the inner handle upon the shank that it can be shifted longitudinally thereon to adjusted positions and thus properly tension the spring.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door latch of simple construction, easy to operate, and not liable to break or get out of order.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view showing a latch of the improved construction in top plan, the door and a portion of a wall being shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation lookingat the latch from outside the barn. Fig. 3 is a view showing the latch in side elevation and the door in vertical section.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a modified form of spring. 1 Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form of latch 'for securing sliding doors closed.

Fig. 6 is a view of the outer handle and door engaging member of Fig. 5, together with the shank carrying the same.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the keepers carried by the sliding doors.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating another modified form of door latch.

Fig. 9 is a view of a form of latch for securing a pair of hingedly mounted doors.

The latch constituting the subject matter of this invention is for holding the door of a barn or other building closed. The wall I represents a portion of the front wall of the barn having a door 2 which is hingedly mounted at one side for swinging movement into and out of closed position. A wear plate or keeper plate 3 secured against the outer face of the door in a vertical position by screws or other suitable fasteners 4 and it is corrugated transversely to provide a plurality of ribs 5 and intermediate seats 6. Inner and outer plates 1 and 8 are secured against corresponding faces of the wall I by fasteners 9 and I0 and are formed with openings which register with an opening II formed through the wall. a

Through this opening passes the shank I2 of thelatch'. This shank consists of a metal bar of sufiicient thickness to form a rigid shank, the bar being bent intermediate its length to provide a side arm or bill l3 extending radially from the shank and of sufiicient length to extend across the keeper plate 3 when the shank is turned to dispose the bill in overlying relation'to the closed door. The bill extends diagonally from the shank and is bent to dispose its free end portion parallel to the wall and the door when the door is closed. It will thus be seen that the free end portion of the bill will have fiat contacting engagement with the keeper plate when swung across the samefand engaged in one of the seats 6 and the door will be firmly held closed.

In order tolturn the shank from outside the barn, there'has been provided an outer handle 14 formed from a strip of stiff sheet metal. This handle is of arcuate formation and has inwardly extending arms l5 and [6, the arm I5 being formedwith an opening to receive the shank and the arn -r [5 bein disposed fiat against the bill and curved transversely for a portion of its length, as shown at H, so that when it is welded to the bill-the handle willbe firmly held in place and prevented from turning about the shank out of its proper position. The arcuate portion of the handle is arcuate transversely, as shown in Fig. 2, sothat it may be easily grasped and turning movement imparted to the shank.

The inner handle [8 is preferably formed of sheet metal, although other materials may be used, and has a bridge l9 carrying a bored boss 20 or socket, through which the inner end of the shank passes. Before the inner handle is applied to the shank, a coiled spring 2! is disposed about the portion of the shank protruding inwardly from the wall and the handle is then applied and secured by a set screw 22 which firmly holds the handle in adjusted position upon the shank with the spring compressed to provide predetermined tension to the spring. Expansion of the spring urges the shank inwardly and thus causes the bill l3 to have frictional binding engagement with the keeper plate 3 when turned from the dotted line position of Fig. 2, to the position shown in full lines in this figure and in Fig. l. The spring not only causes the bill to have tight fitting engagement with the keeper plate in the seats 6 between the ribs but also permits the bill to ride over the ribs and, in addition, allows the shank to be shifted outwardly and easily turned into or out of a securing position when a handle is grasped by a person desiring to actuate the latch.

Instead of employing a coiled spring, a bowed leaf spring 23 shown in Fig. 4, may be used. This leaf spring is formed from a strip of resilient sheet metal and has its mid-portion formed with an opening to receive the shank. The fiat end portions 24 of the spring are loosely engaged through retainers 25 carried by a plate 26 which takes the place of the inner plate '5. There has also been shown in Fig. 4, a second boss or socket 20 located at one end of the bridge [9 of the handle l3. By mounting the shank in this socket Where it is secured by the set screw 22', the handle !8 will be mounted off center and turning by leverage action may be imparted to the shank.

The latch illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, is for securing double doors 21 of the sliding type closed. These doors when closed abut a vertically extending abutment bar 28 through which the shank 29 of the latch is rotatably and slidably mounted. This shank passes through wear plates 30 mounted against inner and outer faces of the bar 28 in covering relation to the opening 3| through which the shank passes and, at its outer end, the shank carries a handle. This handle has its bridge 33 fixed to the shank and from opposite ends of the handle extend arms 34 bent to form bills 35 for engaging keepers 36 carried by the two doors. These keepers are formed as shown in Fig. '7, and referring to this figure, it will be seen that each has a bill-engaging cross rod 31 carried byattaching brackets 98 having feet 39 through which screws are passed to mount the keepers against the outer faces of the doors. An inner handle 40 is carried by the shank and about the shank is a spring M which urges the shank inwardly and causes the bills 35 to bear against the doors when the handle 32 is in the position shown with the bills engaging the cross bars 31 of the keepers. When this form of latch is in use, it is mounted as shown and when the doors are open the handle 32 is disposed vertically with the bills 35 bearing against the outer wear plate. When the doors are closed the inner or outer handle is grasped and turned to rotate the shank and move the outer handle to a horizontal position in which the bills engage the keepers and are held in engagement with the doors by action of the spring. The doors will thus be held closed until the latch is turned to a releasing position.

The latch illustrated in Fig. 8, is for a hingedly mounted door and has a shank 42 carrying an adjustable handle 43 at one end and a rigid handle 44 at its other end, a spring 45 being provided about the shank to urge the shank inwardly. Arms 46 and 41 project from opposite ends of the outer handle 44, the arm 41 being of greater length than arm 46 and having its free end portion bent to form a tongue 48 having an opening therein to receive the shackle of a padlock 49. When the door is closed and the latch turned to its securing position, the arm 41 extends in overlying relation to the door with its tongue 48 in close parallel relation to the keeper 50 and the padlock is then applied to prevent unauthorized movement of the latch to releasing position.

In Fig. 9, there has been illustrated another modification wherein the shank 5| carries at its outer end a combined handle and door fastener for securing a pair of hingedly mounted doors. This handle and fastener is formed from a strip of stiff sheet metal having its intermediate portion rigidly secured about the outer end of the shank and bent to form a U-shaped neck 52. After forming the neck, the strip has one end portion bent to form a substantially rectangular hand hold 53 and an arm 54 extending from the neck in position to overlie a closed door. The other end portion of the metal strip is bent to form a hand hold 55 terminating in an outstanding arm 56 for bearing against the outer face of the other door and holding it closed. When this form of outer handle is used, it may be grasped by the two hands and very easily turned into or out of a door securing position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A door latch comprising a bar of stiff metal bent intermediate its length to form a shank of dimensions adapting it to be rotatably and slidably mounted through a wall and a door-securing arm extending laterally from the outer end of the shank, an outer handle consisting of a strip of stiff metal bowed longitudinally and bent in spaced relation to its ends to form an arouate hand grip and bridge portions extending inwardly towards each other from ends thereof, one bridge portion being formed with an opening through which said shank passes and the other being arcuate transversely and disposed against said arm and conforming to the transverse curvature of the arm and welded thereto, and an inner handle on the inner end of the shank.

HANS L. FOSS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Calderwood June 17, 1941 

